Todd accused her driver, "David E." of grabbing her out of the
car by her throat because she was kissing her "white husband".
In her tweets, Todd says she believes the incident was
racially provoked, though she admits she and her husband were
both under the influence of alcohol at the time of the
incident.

Uber was quick to defend itself.

Here is the statement from the driver, "David E," which Uber's PR
team gave to Business Insider:

I picked up the Uber user, Bridget, along with two other
riders, a man and a woman at 9th & U Streets NW. The user was
highly intoxicated. She started the trip by throwing an
empty beer can out of the vehicle, which she got from inside of
her purse. She said the beer was leaking out into her purse. I
explained that she could get me a citation for having alcohol in
the vehicle. She stated don't worry she would pay for it. I also
expressed concerns about the beer leaking in the vehicle and
making a mess. As trip continued, user was conversing with other
two people in the vehicle. The other woman remarked about how
drunk Bridget was.

I dropped one person off, the other woman, and continued.
The user began making out with her male friend. I was not
bothered by this except that her shoes were dug into the seat.
I asked nicely if she could take her shoes off the seats. She
complied. Two minutes later she had both feet in the seat
turned completely backwards in his lap. She had straddled him
while he was faced forward. I said "Ma'am I just asked you not
place your feet in my seats, please take your feet out of my
seats."

The user began to curse at me. She said "you work for
me," among other things, and asked me to stop the vehicle so
she could get out. I said "gladly" and pulled over. As
she got out she used both hands and slammed the car door with
great force. I exited my vehicle to assess if there was any
damage to the door and the seat. She continued cursing, ranting
and raging on towards me in a threatening manner. She was
hitting at the me, and tried at one point to knock my driving
hat off. I pushed her away from me. She continued to come
forward cursing. Her friend tried to hold her back but had a
hard time. At this point a police woman came by and the user
calmed down. The officer spoke with all parties. No report was
made and no damage was noticed. Bridget and the man walked to
their destination.

In the email, Kalanick blamed the media for thinking that Uber is
"somehow liable for these incidents that aren't even real in
the first place." Kalanick also stressed that Uber needs to "make
sure these writers don't come away thinking we are responsible
even when these things do go bad."

Uber provided the following statement to Business Insider:

It is our standard policy to de-activate drivers and
clients as soon as an individual is accused of criminal activity.
In situations where disputes occur between drivers and clients,
we act swiftly to provide all parties with the information and
support they need to pursue their legal rights to the fullest
extent of the law.

Regarding the events that occurred this weekend, our
understanding is that an argument broke out between the driver
utilizing Uber’s technology and one of his passengers, after he
was provoked by the passenger. The police approached the scene
and neither party elected to press charges. If legal action is
taken, Uber remains committed to helping appropriate law
enforcement agencies in any way possible.